We tried tonight (10/23/13) Some New Wines:
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Verdad Albarino ParagonVnyd/EdnaVlly (13.0%) 2012: Pale gold color; very fragrant perfumed/aromatic/Albarino light
stony/mineral/earthy very floozy/floral nose; tart bit lean very floral/aromatic/spicy/bright/zippy dry some stony/
mineral flavor; very long/lean pineapple/floral/hair oil slight stony/earthy quite perfumed finish; an absolutely
lovely aromatic/perfumed Albarino as good as any from Spain. $17.00/$11.40
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Verdad Albarino Sawyer-LindquistVnyd/EdnaVlly (13.0%; DemeterCertified; www.VerdadWines.com) 2012: Pale gold color;
intense perfumed/Albarino/floral more stony/mineral/perfumed talc/chalky complex nose; bit softer/lusher tart rich/
textured floral/Albarino/perfumed talc very spicy more subdued/complex flavor; very long/lingering spicy/perfumed/
Albarino/perfumed talc slight stony/mineral/chalky finish; not as powerful/floozy as the Paragon and a bit more
complex/interesting; a beautiful rendition of Albarino as good as any I’ve had. $22.00/$14.75
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Ryme Vermentino LasBrisasVnyd/Carneros (Hers; 11.2%; www.RymeCellars.com) Forestville 2012: Med.light gold color;
very fragrant/aromatic classic Vermentino/floral/apple blossoms slight stony very bright/perfumed nose; some tart
rather floral/Vermentino/perfumed bit stony/mineral/metallic/steely somewhat rich/lush/textured quite spicy/
zippy/bright flavor; very long floral/aromatic/apple blossom/Vermentino some stony/mineral/metallic slight tangy/
metallic very spicy finish; seems a bit more subdued than the exhuberent 2011 rendition; an absolutely lovely
Vermentino that blows away anything from Tuscany and as good as any from Piemonte or Liguria. $26.00
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Ryme Vermentino LasBrisasVnyd/Carneros (Hirs; 12.8%) Forestville 2012: Med.dark gold color; strong phenolic/
cider/lanolin/resiny/savory some pungent/smokey quite complex nose w/ slight floral undertones; soft/rich/lush/
textured strong phenolic/cidery/resiny/savory bit pungent/earthy/smokey complex flavor w/ soft/smooth tannins;
long soft strong phenolic/cidery/lanolin/savory bit resiny/pungent/butterscotch/horehound complex finish w/ light
tannins; shows much the same phenolic character of previous His but not the hard/austere tannins of previous ones;
some thought this was the best skin-contact white they’re yet had; lovely interesting/savory wine. $36.00
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Qupe MaxTap Cuvee CentralCoast RW Blend (13.5%; Syrah/Grenache/Tempranillo/Mourvedre) 2011: Med.dark color; very
strong plummy/blackberry/Syrah/spicy bit smoky rather perfumed/aromatic nose; soft attractive plummy/cherry/
blackberry fairly spicy/smoky pleasant flavor w/ light/smooth tannins; med.long plummy/cherry/strawberry/
blackberry/Syrah light smoky/spicy finish w/ light tannins; somewhere between the CentralCoast Syrah and the
LosOlivosCuvee; a rather pretty/lightweight/drinkable blend. $20.00/$13.40
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Solminer Rubellite Syrah deLandaVnyd/LosOlivos/SantaYnezVlly (98 cs; 12%) 2012: Rather light/ruby/Pinotish color;
quite lovely very perfumed/aromatic very floral/violets/spicy/Syrah almost Nebb-like very fragrant/pretty nose;
bit tart quite pretty floral/violets/lilacs/Syrah/spicy/perfumed quite pretty/elegant flavor w/ light tannins;
light very attractive/pretty floral/violets/lilacs/Syrah delicate/pretty bit tart finish w/ light tannins;
a really lovely/perfumed nose but doesn’t quite have the impact on the palate of the nose; a bit Pinotish in
characterr but reminds me a lot of a Langhe Nebbiolo w/o the mean/hard/bitey tannins; a lovely and unique
rendition of Calif Syrah I’ve not seen, at a great price. $22.00
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Arnot-Roberts Syrah ClaryRanch/PetalumaGap/SonomaCoast (6 brls; 12 1/4%; 100% whole cluster) 2011: Med.dark
color;very strong Rhonish/peppery/cracked black pepper/dusty/cranberry/wet pavement almost herbal/vegetal/
smokey rather strange complex quite Rhonish nose; somewhat tart/cranberry/black pepper/very Rhonish/roasted
slight floral/violets almost herbal/vegetal flavor w/ light tannins; very long quite tart black pepper/
roasted/Rhonish some herbal/dusty/wet pavement finish w/ light tannins; a bit on the strange side but some
interesting very Rhonish character and a bit vegetal/herbal; not nearly so strident on the palate as previous
ClaryRanches; not a Calif Syrah for everyone’s palate. $45.00
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Arnot-Roberts Syrah Griffin’sLair/PetalumaGap/SonomaCoast (6 brls; 13.2%; 100% whole cluster) 2011: Dark color;
much stronger blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry some smokey/pungent light peppery/cracked black pepper light oak
quite attractive/rich nose; fairly tart strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/riper light cracked black peper/
cold-climate slight Rhonish/roasted flavor w/ some hard tannins; very long strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry
slight cracked black pepper/Rhonish/roasted finish w/ some big/hard/tannins; needs 3-8 yrs of age; much more
mainstream Calif Syrah compared to the ClaryRanch. $55.00
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PierreFrancois AOC: Coteaux du Vendomois (Pineau d’Aunis; 12%) PatriceColin 2010: Med.color; quite earthy/
dusty/mineral rather peanut shells/peanut butter/wet pavement interesting if bizarre nose; very tart earthy/
loamy/dusty/mineral rather peanutty somewhat thin/watery flavor w/ no fruit and no tannins; med.short
watery/thin somewhat earthy/loamy/mineral peanutty finish w/ no tannins; quite bizarre character of
peanut shells but some interesting things therein if you look hard enough. $16.00 (SFW&S)
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Ryme CabFranc AlegriaVnyd/RRV (11.2%) 2012: Med. color; strong herbal/CabFranc/earthy slight mineral light
floral light toasty/oak pleasant note; very hard/tannic/lean/austere slight herbal/earthy/CabFranc flavor w/
hard/bitter tannins; med.long hard/tannic/austere some herbal/floral/CabFranc light earthy/dusty light
toasty/oak finish w/ bitey/bitter tannins; an attractive CabFranc nose but a big bruiser on the palate
that’s kind of painful to drink; obviously needs some age. $32.00
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Catherine&Pierre Breton AC: Chinon/Baumont/Val de Loire (CabFranc; Grapes: BioDynamic; 12%; KermitLynch;
www.DomaineBreton.net) Restigne 2009: Med.dark color; strong herbal/earthy/loamy some CabFranc/fruity/herbal
bit pungent/ozone/WWII beacon bit mushroomy/Kansas root cellar interesting nose; bit soft strong earthy/
loamy/mushroomy/dusty light herbal/CabFranc/fruity flavor w/ light/hard tannins; slight bretty/unclean
quite earthy/loamy/dusty light CabFranc/herbal/fruity finish w/ light/astringent tannins; a bit unclean &
lots of earthy/loamy character; a bit pricey for what it is; may evolve into something interesting. $29.00 (SFW&S)
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Ryme Algianico LunaMattaVnyd/PasoRobles (15.8%; www.RymeCellars.com) 2008: Black/black color; intense blackberry/
blackberry/boysenberry/framboise/bit PR jammy/black cherry cola ripe light toasty/oak/pencilly beautiful nose; soft
beautiful intense black cherry/boysenberry/black cherry cola/jammy very ripe light pencilly/oak rather flavor w/
ample/hard tannins; very long/lingering intense black cherry cola/boysenberry/blackberry/jammy very ripe finish
w/ hard tannins; evolving at a glacial pace; carries the alcohol very well; lots of ripe fruit but doesn’t
stray into the raisened or pruney or late harvesty side; pretty spectacular rendition of Aglianico. $35.00
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Mastroberardino Mastro IGT: Algianico Compania (Vinified in SS & aged 4 mo. in Fr.oak; 13%) Atripalda
2011: Med.dark color; ripe black cherry/blackberry bit earthy rather buttery/popcorn lots of fruit rather
clean nose; soft/ripe light earthy strong fruity/black cherry/blackberry rather lightweight clean flavor
w/ very little tannins; med.short fruity/grapey/black cherry/blackberry slight earthy finish w/ no tannins;
quite atypical for a Campania red in that iit’s clean and has no hot-climate/goat pen/rustic character;
a pleasant enough little wine, but just that.$17.00 (KK)
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Garretson Syrah MonAmie BassettiVnyd/SLOCnty (16.8%) 2003: Very dark color w/ no bricking; very strong
blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/chocolaty/confected slight cracked black pepper/cold-climate rather vanilla/oak
bit fumey/alcoholic/milky very ripe nose; soft/fat strong vanilla/oak intense chocolaty/boysenberry/Syrah/
blackberry/peppery/very ripe bit fumey/alcoholic flavor w/ light tannins buried underneath; very long strong
vanilla/oak intense chocolaty/DrPepper/boysenberry/Syrah/blackberry/Syrah some fumey/alcoholic finish w/
light/smooth tannins; evolving pretty good for a Garretson Syrah (damning w/ faint praise); most thought it
was an over-the-top Oz Shiraz; as some good cold-climate/cracked black pepper character; a bit of the
fat/porky side buut pretty interesting if taken in small doses. Larry’s mystery wine.
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Radio-Coteau Syrah LasColinas SonomaCoast (15.0%; 635 cs) 2006: Dark color w/ light bricking; rather mineral/
peppery/graphite/WWII beacon/pungent bit roasted/bacon fat/Rhonish charred/toasty/oak some blackberry/Syrah
somewhat strange/reduced complex nose; fairly tart strong burnt/charred/pencilly/oak very pungent/used fireworks/WWII
beacon/burning graphite some blackberry/framboise/Syrah some perrery/cold-climate flavor w/ slight/drying tannins;
very long charred/burnt/used fireworks/pungent some blackberry/Syrah strong charred/oak/toasty bit roasted/
Rhonish/peppery/cold-climate finish w/ some astringent/drying tannins; lots of very interesting things therein
bit dominated bu burnt/charred/oak and a pungent/reduced character; probably needs to breath some.
And more nonsense from TheBloodyPulpit:
- Verdad: This iis the label of Louisa Sawyer-Lindquist, specializing in Spanish varietals. Both of these
Albarinos are as fine as any I’ve had from Calif, including the Drew, one of my standard faves. This is the
first Albarino of Louisa’s I’ve tried from their S-L BioDynamic vnyd in the EdnaVlly. Previous Albarinos
have been sourced, I believe, from down in the SantaYnezVlly. I slightly preferred the S-L as being less a
floozy Albarino and more subtle/complex in character.
The S-L vnyd has recently been sold, but the new owners will continue to farm it BioDynamic and continue
to sell the grapes to Bob & Louisa.
- Ryme: This is the wnry/label of Ryan & Megan Glaab. Ryan is asst winemaker w/ PaxMahle/WindGap.
They get Vermentino from FrankMahoney’s LasBrisas vnyd in the Carneros, probably one of the coldest
Vermentino vnyds in the world. They make two renditions of Vermentino, His and Hers. Hers is made by
conventional fermentation in SS, to emphasize the bright/fruity/aromatic aspects of Vermentino. His is made
with extended skin-contact thru fermentation (in concrete eggs or amphorae??) and then put to barrel
and matured in a reductive fashion, in a non-oxidative status.
These two Vermentinos are always a fun pair to taste together. In the past, the Hers has always been the
clear favorite, because of its aromatics and the hard/austere/tannic character the His typically show. But
this yr’s rendition of the His seemed to have not as much harsh phenolic character and the tannic/austere
character on the palate seemed toned down. Some thought this was the best skin-contact white that I yet
forced upon them. I thought it the best His yet, as well, and gave it the slight edge over the Hers for
its savory/complex character. Sorry, Megan.
The Aglianico comes from John & Jody Ahner’s LunaMatta vnyd. We walked this vnyd at NEB4 this year,
but only the two Nebbiolo blocks. The Aglianico block over on the far hillside was pounted out to us. Stephy
Terrizzi is their vnyd consultant. The '08 was their first Aglianico. The '09 is still aging away. The '10,
already released, is a bit more forward than this '08. I’d love to see what Ryan & Megan could do w/ some
of the Nebb from this vnyd.
On the CabFranc, the jury’s still out on this one. It’s made more in a Loire style than a Calif-style
of CabFranc. It reminded me a bit of SteveMatthiassen’s version. I liked the nose a lot, but iit was mightly
painful to drink. I’m not sure where that wine’s going to go.
- MaxTap: This is a new sorta-Rhonish blend for Bob. I liked it quite a lot, but didn’t think it was quite
as good as his standard LosOlivosCuvee (which doesn’t have Tempranillo in it). The LOC has an uncanny way
of aging very well and I expect a similar performance from MaxTap.
- Solminer: This is a new label out of LosOlivos of David & Anna deLaski. SteveClifton is their winemaker.
I have been highly impressed by their Riesling and Gruner, but this was their first red I’ve tried.
David had given me a fore-warning that this was not your usual SantaBarbara Syrah in style. It was
what he described to CraigJaffurs when he tried it as a “skinny” Syrah. So I included it w/ some Arnot-
Roberts Syrahs, which are darlings of the low-alcohol/IPoB crowd.
Even, then…the Solminer Syrah stuck out like a sore thumb in being markedly different in style from
any Calif Syrahs I recall. At 12%, it’s evident that the grapes were harvested early for the norm of Syrah
in the SantaYnezVlly. I was expecting the wine to have a searing acidity to it and being on the lean/austere/
eviscerated/green side. I’ve had some ClaryRanch Syrahs that were quite painful to drink. But this Solminer
was not that way at all. It was a light/Jack-be-nimble/Jack-be-quick rendition of Syrah. The floral aromatics
reminded me some of lighter Cote-Roties, but w/o the roasted/smoky character they of have. Some of my group
thought it rather Pinotish in character. To me, more than anything, it brought to mind a Langhe Nebbiolo,
because of the lilting/delicate floral aromatics those wines oft have, but w/o the hard/bitey tannins those
wines also often show.
At any rate, it’s a very interesting & unusual rendition of SantaBarbara Syrah that you have to approach
with an open mind. Or, as they say in Monktown, “you have to think outside the box”. Though I can guarantee
this wine will not get a Monktown 96 rating.
- Arnot-Roberts: The wnry of DuncanMeyers and NathanRoberts. They are heroes of the IPoB wine crowd and focus
on less ripe and lower alcohol wines. I am mostly interested in the Syrahs and Trosseau, the Pinots and Chards
have, thus far, not been as interesting. The ClaryRanch, out to the Southwest of Petaluma, is one of the, if
not the, coldest Syrah vnyds in Calif. They often have difficulty to get those grapes to ripen. Of these two
Syrahs, I rather preferred the ClaryRanch. It was much more interesting, if a bit bizarre, and had a strong
Rhonish character that I liked.
Duncan & Nathan are now managing AlRago’s QueSyrah vnyd out to the west of Sebastapol and doing some
replanting of several Syrah blocks there. This is another very cold-climate Syrah vnyd. It will be
interesting to see what they do w/ Al’s grapes, one of my favorite Syrah vnyds in Calif.
Tom
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